white smoke

[HAULN-SS]

Thanks. I could thin it out with alcohol and sell Fresh scented engine cleaner. Mango, Sea Breeze, Coconut...hell, if they can do it with gas additives....

anyway..back on topic.

Is this happening all the time, or just when you start the car after it's been sitting? Could need valve stem seals replace?

[.RJ]

Is this happening all the time, or just when you start the car after it's been sitting? Could need valve stem seals replace?

i haven't gotten it back running yet, so i haven't re-torqued it because the white smoke started pouring out as soon as i got the engine timed.

Bad valve stem seals dont leak coolant.

[HAULN-SS]

might not actually be coolant..unless i misread, he doesn't actually have proof it's coolant burning. What's it the smoke smell like?

[balactm]

I'd try re-torquing the studs, in sequence - try to run the engine for a few minutes if you can, keep a close eye on the temp gauge. It could be coolant still sitting in the exhaust or cylinders - I assume you changed the oil with the head gasket?

When you pulled the plugs out were any of them very clean or white? When coolant burns off it will usually take the carbon deposits with it.

yeah i pulled the plugs out they were actually black. they weren't white at all. and yeah i changed the oil when i replaced the hg and oil pan gasket.

and the white smoke smell kind of sweet. i guess.

[.RJ]

How long did you let it run for?

[balactm]

probably 15-20 minutes...it smoked the whole time.

[HAULN-SS]

it's definately coolant if it smells sweet.

[Steve85]

I would start with a cooling system pressure check. If it doesn't hold and there is no external leak well...that's a good sign there is an internal leak. If it is internal, take out the plugs and hit the starter and look for coolant being pumped out of the cylinders. In fact you better do that first when you get home; if the gasket is that bad it will seep into the cylinder while sitting. This will also prevent a hydro-lock if it is indeed leaking internally.

Now a blown head gasket will often pump a lot of coolant in to the exhaust where it can take a while to burn off.

If the cooling system holds pressure, let it run for awhile and see if it burns off. If there is another problem there is not much harm in this, ultimately the tools come back out.

[balactm]

I would start with a cooling system pressure check. If it doesn't hold and there is no external leak well...that's a good sign there is an internal leak. If it is internal, take out the plugs and hit the starter and look for coolant being pumped out of the cylinders. In fact you better do that first when you get home; if the gasket is that bad it will seep into the cylinder while sitting. This will also prevent a hydro-lock if it is indeed leaking internally.

there was some coolant leaking from the thermostat housing...i don't know if that helps.

[Dave]

Steve and RJ have good thoughts.
The coolant pressure check is definitely a good idea. If your t-stat housing is leaking, fix that first to eliminate that as an issue. Retorqueing the head isn't going to hurt anything either. For your question earlier, a faulty T-stat won't allow coolant to get into the combustion chambers, that will just affect the engine's ability to cool itself.

Since your HG blew before, I'd say that there is definitely a good chance that coolant got in and you're going to have to burn it off for a bit. I'd even do another cheap oil change too (just some off brand oil and filter to run until you sort this out).

The black plugs usually mean oil is present or you're running too rich. Throw in some cheap ones there too, just to serve as a clean slate to see if you can replicate the black plugs.

[Maengelito]

The coolant pressure check is definitely a good idea. .

another use for chan's idea of a coolant pressure gauge